Brad Stuart Appreciation Thread

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

Ever since coming over from LA I think Brad Stuart has been quite solid for us, one of our better defenseman consistently. In the 08' Cup run he solidified our top 4 and i believe in the finals he had 6 points in the first 4 games leading our team. In the 09' playoffs when we were hurting with injuries he stepped up his game and was pretty good. Some of us remember his gaffs in game 7, which i think is unfair.

This year he is one of only 3 Wings to play 82 games, he stepped up huge when our lineup was depleted, and has been great for us on the back end all year. To top it off he came up big today in OT pinching in and reading the play perfectly.

All in all I guess since coming over from LA i'd say Stuie as definatly exceeded most people's expectations.

A+ for Stuie!

[crotty99 302]

He's been pretty solid since coming over. Great goal today.

Still have trouble with his game 7 last year....

But this is an appreciation thread so I appreciate him,

haha.

[Soul Power 1]

Still haven't forgiven him for game 7... . Yes, I'm still bitter.

[Opie 308]

Stuart has been rock solid in Detroit, imho you could not ask for a better 3-4 pairing in the league. Stuart and Kronwall were fantastic this year, there was a time when Stuart was the best wing on the ice for games, well him and J-Ho.

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

Still haven't forgiven him for game 7... . Yes, I'm still bitter.

I would find it harder to if we didn't win the Cup the year before.

Winning the Cup the year before took the sting away of losing game 7 ALOT.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Stuart was a great pickup for the Wings. solid middle pairing, and provides a much needed physical presence to the Wings defensive corps.

And as people have mentioned, he really stepped up for this team in the first half of the season when they were struggling with injuries, and just trying to right the ship in general.

Thank you LA Kings for letting him go (though with all their young talent at D, I can't blame them).

[titanium2 867]

"Yayyy! I used to be an offensive defenseman!!!"

[stormboy 47]

yeah, i sorta wish he wasn't tied for second-worse on the team +/- wise, but he doesn't score a lot, whereas rafalski does. i also enjoy that he only took 11 penalties in 82 games this year. hopefully he can bring his physical game (with a bit of offense) to the playoffs this year! to me, he's always shown flashes of brilliance but also a lot of facepalm moments...kinda like filppula in that way.

in any case, he's a wing, so i appreciate him. go brad!

[FinWing 26]

How the hell were we supposed to win game 7 last year anyway, scoring only one goal and a fluke one at that. It's funny how most losses are pinned on one guy or one play when there's a bigger problem in the background.

Go Stuart.

[RedWings 79]

great goal yesterday

good guys like cleary, stuart scored goals lately.. It will take pressure off the big guys.

wings cup winning teams always had great secondary scoring... we lacked that against the pens last year

[Travis 576]

I didn't know much about Stuart when he arrived, other than he had a few other teams under his belt. I remember being really underwhelmed with our deadline acquisition of a journeyman defenseman, but I am really happy about it now. Ever since he arrived, I've thought him to be a great addition.

[titanium2 867]

[brett 1,029]

lovedd that! stuart def deserved the ot winner and 5th seed clinching goal with his play all season despite his plus minus

i remember when stuart first came over he used to bring the puck behind the offensive net. i think his first goal with the wings was a wrap around.

[zombi 43]

I loved watching Stewie knocking Versteeg over and over again. It's so fitting that he got the OT winner too.

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

A Brad Stuart appreciation thread must have this:

[miller76 463]

Lets not forget Round 1 last year against the BJ's

[titanium2 867]

A Brad Stuart appreciation thread must have this:

Remember when the Pens bench claimed that was a dirty hit?

[Theophany 110]

he stepped up huge when our lineup was depleted, and has been great for us on the back end all year.

A+ for Stuie!

Won't argue with the first point, but then again a lot of people stepped up a lot during that time. Eaves, Miller, Howard, etc.

And as for the second point, he's tied with Meech in +/-, and he's still behind Leino, Abdelkader, and Lebda in the same stat.

"Great" is not an adjective I'd use in association with Stuart. "Mediocre" or "meh" are more apt descriptions of his playing ability.

He's the one Wing (other than Williams, that waste of space) that I honestly don't like. I'd rather Lebda, Lilja, or Ericsson have his playing time.

I'd give him a C as a defenseman in general, but for the $3.75M we pay him, D+ is going to be the best he'll see from me until he stops letting forwards rip shots from prime position and figures out how to play in front of the net.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Won't argue with the first point, but then again a lot of people stepped up a lot during that time. Eaves, Miller, Howard, etc.

And as for the second point, he's tied with Meech in +/-, and he's still behind Leino, Abdelkader, and Lebda in the same stat.

"Great" is not an adjective I'd use in association with Stuart. "Mediocre" or "meh" are more apt descriptions of his playing ability.

He's the one Wing (other than Williams, that waste of space) that I honestly don't like. I'd rather Lebda, Lilja, or Ericsson have his playing time.

I'd give him a C as a defenseman in general, but for the $3.75M we pay him, D+ is going to be the best he'll see from me until he stops letting forwards rip shots from prime position and figures out how to play in front of the net.

That would be a disaster.

Stuart had a really bad run right before the Olympics, but he seems to have recovered. But comparing his plus minus to Meech, Leino, Abby, doesn't really mean anything. They weren't asked to do what Stuart was during that stretch.

He's no Nick Lidstrom, but who the hell is? He's a solid middle pairing guy, and hopefully you'll like him more when he puts someone through the boards. Come playoff time, guys are skating with their head on a swivel when Stuart and Kronwall are on the ice.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

[Green Wing 26]

Anyone else think Stuart is playing great at the moment?

He's our only real physical presence on defense, and he seems to have a lot of confidence on the puck too.

[Guest Crymson]

When he's on, he's on. Wonderful game by him tonight.

Edit: He was also the game's ice-time leader.

Edited April 24, 2010 by Crymson

[titanium2 867]

In reflecting on Stuart's good year this past season I think it's safe to say that he really stepped up. In regards to what we can expect from him next year I'm wondering if we're all going to expect the Brad Stuart that was the team's best defensemen at one point in the year. We all like to think, "Oh wow, if he was that good then, then he should be that good next year and if everybody's healthy our back end will be really strong!"

I'm not so sure though. Perhaps it was the situation of injuries that brought out Stuart's great game as opposed to a situation where the defense corps are relatively healthier like in 08-09 where he didn't nearly play as well. If everybody's healthy then he might feel like he doesn't have to step up and so we won't see as great of a game from him.

[Green Wing 26]

In reflecting on Stuart's good year this past season I think it's safe to say that he really stepped up. In regards to what we can expect from him next year I'm wondering if we're all going to expect the Brad Stuart that was the team's best defensemen at one point in the year. We all like to think, "Oh wow, if he was that good then, then he should be that good next year and if everybody's healthy our back end will be really strong!"

I'm not so sure though. Perhaps it was the situation of injuries that brought out Stuart's great game as opposed to a situation where the defense corps are relatively healthier like in 08-09 where he didn't nearly play as well. If everybody's healthy then he might feel like he doesn't have to step up and so we won't see as great of a game from him.

I'm not sure Wings fans will be expecting great things to be honest. I've never been convinced in general of the Wings fans love for him. He had a real bad spell in Jan - Feb '10 for over a month or so. Other than that though, I'd suggest he was one of the best players last season. I notice my post from 24th April - ironically he made a couple of bad errors in the following game (against Phoenix) and I thought I'd jinxed him. But he came back to finish pretty strong, that being the only dodgy game for Brad in the playoffs. Otherwise, he was very good.

I just think he'd be so much better if there was one or two more physical d-men in the team. As it stands, he almost has to do it all himself, in regards to clearing the crease and throwing the body along the boards, especially since Kronwall has never looked 100% since his knee injury.

Gotta say I am a fan of Stuart though, all in all. Considering he was leading in ice-time on numerous occasions last season, I'm hoping for a general (if slight) improvement on his previous endeavors for the Wings. If the defense is healthy, and especially if Kronwall is back to his best and the third pairing is strong and solid, then I think the overall defense could form the platform for a SC-challenging team.

I've always thought he's been a real good pick-up by Kenny Holland.

[Puckpossession 3]

i appreciate him choking in game 7 of scf 08-09